<\/p>\n
More than two decades after Lauren Weisberger released her novel, \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada,\u201d the inspiration behind Miranda Priestley\u2019s fashionable and acerbic senior assistant, Emily Charlton, has identified herself.<\/p>\n
Celebrity stylist Leslie Fremar declared herself to be the the real \u201cEmily\u201d during the latest episode of Vogue\u2019s \u201cThe Run-Through\u201d podcast. It comes just ahead of the release of the \u201cDevil Wears Prada 2,\u201d sequel to the 2006 film based on Weisberger\u2019s bestselling book.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I am. I am Emily,\u201d Fremar told Vogue boss Chloe Malle, the successor of Anna Wintour, who stepped down as the editor-in-chief of American Vogue in June 2025 after 37 years.<\/p>\n
Fremar\u2019s character is famously portrayed by Emily Blunt in the fashion film franchise while her boss, the Wintour-inspired Priestly, is played by Meryl Streep. Weisberger based her 2003 book on her experiences at Vogue and her time as Wintour\u2019s junior assistant. Her character, plucky journalist Andie Sachs, is played by Anne Hathaway in the movie, with Stanley Tucci rounding out the star-studded cast.<\/p>\n
Fremar said she was actually the one who hired Weisberger, adding that they worked closely together during the latter\u2019s eight months at Vogue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely told her a million girls would kill for the job,\u201d she said, quoting a beloved line from the movie. \u201cThat was definitely my line because I actually really believed that, and I knew that she didn\u2019t necessarily wanna be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fremar also revealed she\u2019d already left Vogue when \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada\u201d hit the bookshelves. She added that she only found out about it after she got a call from Wintour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a call from Anna\u2019s office saying that she wanted to see me,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was petrified. [Wintour] said, \u2018Who\u2019s Lauren Weisberger? And I said, \u2018She was your junior assistant,\u201d Fremar continued. \u201cAnd she\u2019s like, \u2018Well, she wrote a book about us, and you\u2019re worse than me.’\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that the book \u201cfelt like a betrayal\u201d when it was released and she and Weisberger \u201cnever talked again after she left.\u201d<\/p>\n